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The Varangians (Russian: Variags) were Finnic Kveens who in some point and time in ancient history had settled in the extreme most northeastern part of Scandinavia, northeast of today's Finland, in and around the area of Petsamo, which up to [[1944 was part of the Republic of Finland, and around the Varanger Fjord - now part of [[Norway - right next to it.
Up todate the Kveen culture and traditions of the Kveens are alive all around the Varanger Fjord.
Promoting trade, piracy and mercenary militarism, they roamed the river systems and portages of what later became Russia, reaching the Caspian Sea and Constantinople.
The East Slavs and the Byzantines, however, did not distinguish Scandinavians from other Germanic peoples when they used this term. In the Russian Primary Chronicle, this term also includes the people of Denmark and England (Англяне).
The Varangian Rus
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The Varangians (Varyags, in Old East Slavic language) are first mentioned by the Russian Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes (cf. the Danegeld) in 859. In 862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangians, but started making war on each other. The disorder led the tribes to invite the Varangians to come and rule them and bring peace to the region. Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus, the invited Varangians (called Rus) settled around the town of Novgorod.
Though many historians view these 9th century Varangians as legendary, the real settlement of Aldeigjuborg (now Staraya Ladoga) was associated with the name of Rurik, and established around Lake Ladoga in the 8th century. Western history has it that these Scandinavians founded Kievan Rus' and gave their name to the land, 'Russia'. Many Slavic scholars are opposed to this theory of Northern influence and have suggested alternative theories for this part of Russian history. For an overview, see Rus.
In contrast to the intense Scandinavian influence in Normandy and the British Isles, Varangian culture did not survive to a great extent in the East. Instead, the Varangian ruling classes of the two powerful city-states of Novgorod and Kiev were eventually Slavicized, but Old Norse was spoken in Novgorod until the 13th century, and a Varangian mercenary force continued in the service of the Byzantine Emperors.
A claim: The Varangians actually were northestern Kveens
According to the Northern Norwegian Viking leader Ottar from Björkoy in Hålogaland (Haalogaland) (see also: Ottar from Hålogaland, near Troms (Tromsa), as well as the sagas by Egil the Finnish Kveens (a.k.a. Cwen or Quen people) were in charge of the large northernmost territories of the Scandinavian Peninsula during the 9th century AD, and before.
Ottar met the English King Alfred the Great in England in the end of the 9th century and made a thorough account to him of the life in Northern Norway and the Finnic Kveens, and about his exploration trip to the White Sea - Vienan meri in Finnish - in what today is an official part of the northwestern Russia. This account was included to the translation by Alfred the Great of the World History of Orosius. This was the first genuine and comprenensive account of the North, and thus it is a principle source in the exploration of the Nordic history.
According to these and other historical documents the Norwegians and the Finnish Kveens united their forces on the 9th century against the attacks by the Finnish Karelians who - with the assistance of Novgorod (in early Russia) - made advances up North, particularly coming to the 11th century.
In 1251 the (Finnic) Karelians fought against the Norvegians and in 1271 the (Finnic) Kveens and the (Finnic) Karelians cooperated in battles against the Norwegians in Hålogaland (Haalogaland). These battles had a lasting effect in life in the entire Northern Scandinavia.
The information - including battles and their respective years - described in the Norwegian sources mentioned here seem to match with the Russian sources given above. However, whereas the the people living near and around the Varanger Fjord during the Viking age were known by the Norwegians as Finnic Kveens - the extreme most northeastern of the Kveens -, the Russian (Slavic) sources talk about Varangians - instead of Kveens - in the same context. This may be explained with the fact that the Slavic people at the time saw the various Finnic groups as individual tribes, not as Finns. Also, the term Kveen was not used by the Russians, but by the Norse (Norwegains) instead. In same manner the Finnic people more south were known as Karelians by the Ruassians, not as Finns, despite the fact that the Karelians are Finns.
This all makes more sence when we take a closer look at the historical facts and examine the map of the Scandinavian peninsula. The closest Sweas (Swedes) at the period in question - i.e. the Viking age - lived nearly 1000 kilometers away from the Varanger Fjord, whereas the Finns lived all around it. The Swedish expansion into the Fennoscandian peninsula - now known as Finland - only got on its way during the 12th century, and from there on the slow and gradual - more or less peacefull - incorporation of what became to be known as Sweden-Finland took several hundred centuries.
The Varangian Guard
Varangians first appear in the Byzantine world in 839, when the emperor Theophilus negotiated with the Varangians, whom he called Rhos, to provide a few mercenaries for his army. Although the Varangians often had peaceful trading relations with the Byzantines, they sometimes led attacks against Constantinople. Such attacks came in 860, 907, 911, 941, 945, 971, and finally 1043. These raids were successful only in causing the Byzantines to re-arrange their trading arrangements; militarily, the Varangians were always defeated by the superior Byzantine forces, especially by the use of Greek fire.
The Varangians served with Dalmatians as marines in naval expeditions against Crete in 902 and again in 949 under Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Further, they were employed in a land campaign in Syria in 955. This service elevated their rank from members of the Great Companions (Gr. Μεγαλη Εταιρειαι) of mercenaries to the Imperial Guard.
Under Basil II, these were separated into a new force known as the Varangian Guard (Gr. tagma ton baraggion) in 988 upon the conversion of the Kievan prince Vladimir to Orthodox Christianity. In exchange for marriage with Basil's sister Anna, Vladimir gave the emperor 6,000 men recently arrived from the North to use as his personal bodyguard. These men gave Basil II the power to end two attempted uprisings against which he had been losing ground. After securing his throne the Varangians became the life-guards of the emperor. Over the years, new recruits from as far abroad as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway gave a predominently Scandinavian cast to the organization until the late 11th century.
After the successful invasion of England by the Normans, however, a large number of Anglo-Saxons and Danes immigrated to the Byzantine Empire by way of the Mediterranean. One source has more than 5,000 of them arriving in 235 ships. Those who did not enter imperial service were settled on the Black Sea, but those who did became so vital to the Varangians that it was commonly called the Englinbarrangoi from that point. In this capacity they were able to war against the Normans under Robert Guiscard in Sicily, who unsuccessfully sought to invade the lower Balkans as well.
The duties and purpose of the Varangian Guard was similar to - if not identical - to the services provided by the Kievan druzhina, the Scandinavian vikinge-lag, and the Anglo-Saxon and Danish huscarls. The Varangians served as the personal lifeguard of the emperor, swearing an oath of loyalty to him; they had ceremonial duties as retainers and acclaimers and performed some police duties, especially with regard to cases of treason and conspiracy.
While the Varangians are represented in Walter Scott's novel "Count Robert of Paris" as being the fiercest and most loyal element of the Byzantine forces, this is probably exaggerated. However, the exaggeration was begun not by English romantics but by Byzantine writers themselves, who applied a "noble savage" identity to the Varangians. Many Byzantine writers referred to them as "axe-bearing barbarians," or pelekuphoroi barbaroi, rather than Varangians. While many writers praised their loyalty to the emperors (and ascribed their loyalty to their race), the Byzantine rule was marred by usurpations, which indicates that the Guard was either less loyal or less effective than the sources would lead us to believe.
Similar to their distant brethren, the Varangians' main weapon was a long axe, although they were often skilled swordsmen or archers as well. In some sources they are described as mounted. The guard was stationed primarily around Constantinople, and may have been barracked in the Bucoleon palace complex. The guard also accompanied armies into the field, and Byzantine chroniclers (as well as several notable Western European and Arab chroniclers) often note their battlefield prowess, especially in comparison to the local barbarian peoples. They were the only element of the army to successfully defend part of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Although the Guard was apparently disbanded after the city's capture in 1204, there are some indications that it was revived either by the Empire of Nicaea or the Palaeologid emperors themselves.
One of the most famous members of the Varangian Guard was the future king Harald III of Norway, known as Harald Hardraada ("Hardreign"), who arrived in Constantinople in 1035. He participated in eighteen battles and became the Akolythos ("Acolyte," the title of the commander of the guard) before returning home in 1043. The exiled English prince Edgar Ætheling may also have served with the Guard around 1098.
See also
- For the Scandinavians who travelled westward, see Vikings
- Rurik, Rulers of Kievan Rus
- Roslagen, Svealand, Svear
- Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy
- Road from Varangians to Greeks
Primary Sources
- The Strategikon by Kekaumenos
- The Alexiad by Anna Komnene
- The Historia ecclesiatica by Ordericus Vitalis
- The Chronicon universale anonymi Laudunensis
- The Jatvardar saga
- The Heimskringla
Sources
- Sigfus Blondal. Varangians of Byzantium: An Aspect of Byzantine Military History. Trans. by Benedikt S. Benedikz, Cambridge: 1978. ISBN 0521217458
- H.R. Ellis Davidson. The Viking Road to Byzantium. London: 1976. ISBN 0049400495
External links
- Who Were the Varangians?
- English Refugees in the Byzantine Armed Forces: The Varangian Guard and Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Consciousness by Nicholas C.J. Pappas for De Re Militari.org
- In the 1990’s group of medieval re-enactors in Australia organized an association known as the New Varangian Guard, which works toward recreating elements of Varangian history. It publishes a quarterly journal entitled Varangian Voice, which includes historical information, as well as news regarding the activities of the association and practical information on reproducing armor, costume and weaponry.
Notes
- It is neither unusual nor particularly Byzantine that a foreign unit would gain such access and prestige. Augustus himself had a personal guard of Germans, the Collegium Custodum Corporis or Germani Corporis Custodes, to protect himself from the native Praetorians. This guard was revived by Tiberius and continued until Nero.